Review: Elsbeth, “Deadutante” | Season 3, Episode 14 / Matlock, "The Cavalry Isn't Coming" | Season 2, Episode 12

“Boys that age are born to hurt.”

I believe I made more of a cursory mention when it happened, but “Deadutante” is a good opportunity to talk about how Elsbeth has switched awards categories. When the show premiered in 2024, CBS put it forward as a drama in all categories for voting consideration. On its face, this makes sense. The Good Wife and The Good Fight each were submitted as dramas when they aired, in spite of the fact that they often were incredibly funny. Carrie Preston, as some of you no doubt already know, won an Emmy on The Good Wife under the Guest Star in a Drama Series category, too. Moreover, the show that directly inspired Elsbeth, the 1970s detective show Columbo, was also a big winner at the Emmys in the Drama category despite the main character being a delightfully funny presence.

And yet, episodes like “Deadutante” are why it makes perfect sense that this show is being considered a comedy moving forward. While it’s true that this show may not make much headway on the funnier side of the aisle amidst other well-known contenders, a murder at a debutante ball by way of sword ends up leading to an enormous amount of comic fodder. It’s true that I laugh often at this show, but I don’t know that I’ve laughed quite as hard at Elsbeth as I did at the main plot of “Deadutante.” Part of it is just the snappy dialogue credited to writer Erica Larson. (A snooty mom derisively talking about interns right before she asks her teenage daughter to “help with Mommy’s alibi” is the good stuff.) And part of it is the fizzy personality clash between the ever-chipper Elsbeth and the killer of the week, Izzy Langford (J. Smith-Cameron), who oversees the annual Empire City Debutante Ball and treats it with the utmost gravitas.

Also, amid all of the humor, I appreciated that Izzy is that very specific kind of killer of the week, for whom we can feel genuine empathy. Larson's script waits a little longer to make clear why Izzy wants to kill the obnoxious Sterling Barlowe during the annual ball. Even from the outset, he is clearly the type of rich dude who waves around his name like a cudgel. But when we learn that Izzy has harbored a decades-long grudge against Sterling because his cruelty towards her when she was a "deb" indirectly led to her father dying, it's enough to make you feel for her. Yes, Izzy is outrageously snobby, but Sterling is outrageously jerky. Not enough to excuse murder, but I felt for her plight.